Bankable, trained by South African Herman Brown and ridden by Ryan Moore, was the game winner of a thrilling Group Two Al Fahidi Fort, the feature and only turf race at Meydan’s sixth meeting of the 2010 Dubai International Racing Carnival.

Sponsored by Commercial Bank of Dubai, the race produced a three way photo with Bankable defeating Imbongi and Ibn Battuta in a bob of heads.

Brown, winning the race for a third time, said: “He is a really nice horse and the Dubai Duty Free has always been his target. Now he has won this we will probably go straight there without another run.”

Earlier, Godolphin’s Skysurfers had impressively defeated a quality field in a 1m conditions race on Tapeta under Frankie Dettori. He was chased home by Group 1 winner Eagle Mountain and trainer Saeed Bin Suroor said: “He is a horse I have always liked and we will have to think about stepping him up in class.”

Trainer and jockey were completing a double having earlier won the 1200m handicap with Global City who was recording a second course and distance Carnival win, as was Luca Cumani’s Drunken Sailor who won the 2200m handicap under Kieren Fallon.

Doug Watson made the perfect start to the night with Quaolina and Richard Hills winning the opening Group Two Bani Yas, a 1200m race and the only Purebred Arabian race on the card.

He then saddled Green Coast to win the 1400m handicap under Tadhg O’Shea and the trainer said: “That is a great way to start the night and the horses have been going well in general. Quaolina is a quality mare and she will go back to Abu Dhabi for the Group One Liwa Oasis she won last year.

“Green Coast continues to run well and deserved to get his head in front after two luckless efforts.”

Watson then ended the night in perfect style with O’Shea again in the saddle on Roman’s Run who won the concluding 1900m handicap.

Watson trails Ali Rashid Al Raihe in the trainers’ championship and that rival opened his 2010 Carnival account when Al Shemali won the 2000m handicap under Royston Ffrench who said: “The horse have been running so well and we have been having seconds and thirds so it is great to actually win one for the whole team.”